Nothing is Neutral

I am often amused when people say things such as this person is biased or this person is stating just the facts. People often do not realize that while their is an objective truth, all truth is subject to subjective interpretation. One of my favorite scenes in Ruroni Kenshin was when Kaoru, a kendo instructor, was talking about the self developing benefits of learning how to fight with a sword. One person mocked her saying that a sword only has one purpose, to kill one’s enemies. Kenshin, a wandering Samurai, would later chime in and state that while it is true that a sword is solely meant for killing, he preferred Karou’s idealist view over the truth.

This scene shows us that all things are saturated in subjective interpretations. In a Christian context, this reveals how the world is fallen and blessed at the same time. Let’s take food. Food is essential and tastes good when made well. However, the fallen part of food is gluttony, bad health, and disease. Now one might think that because one eats healthy and moderately they are free from the fallen nature of the world based on their decisions. However, with the healthy lifestyle comes pride, an unhealthy attachment to life, and in some cases an extreme psychological compulsion that becomes all consuming. 

What can be seen in this discussion is that within all human actions, the seeds of blessedness and fallen nature is present. Bombs can be used to clear away old building to make better building, but they can also be used to kill thousands in an instant. Explosives were made with both intentions in mind simultaneously. All actions contain both elements. As one saint put it, Satan’s net covers the whole world in all that is in it. One must fight back with the only thing that can help guard against this net, humility. Humility is the key in realizing that one is sinful and that the fallen world is ever present in all things. One can use a sword for physical and spiritual benefit, but remember, that the sword is a tool for killing as well. Humbly realize that one learns to kill and you may hold back from ever using it to do so.